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Table of Contents AAS Newsletter November/December 2012, Issue 167 - Published for the Members of the American Astronomical Society Table of Contents 2 President’s Column 23 Committee on Employment 3 From the Executive Office 24 Committee on the Status of Women in 4 On the Waterfront: AAS Returns to Long Astronomy Beach 25 Bringing Sustainability into Your Institution 5 2012 Kavli Lecturers 27 Calendar of Events 7 HAD News 28 Announcements 8 JWST Update 29 United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative 12 Candidate Statements (UNBSSI) 1991-2012 21 News from NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) Back page Washington News 22 News from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) A A S American Astronomical Society President's Column AAS Officers David J. Helfand, President David J. Helfand, [email protected] Debra M. Elmegreen, Past President Nicholas B. Suntzeff, Vice-President Edward B. Churchwell, Vice-President Paula Szkody, Vice-President From close-up pictures of water-sculpted pebbles on Hervey (Peter) Stockman, Treasurer G. Fritz Benedict, Secretary Mars, to the detection of galaxies at the boundary of Anne P. Cowley, Publications Board Chair the Dark Ages, discoveries in our field continue to Edward E. Prather, Education Officer advance our understanding of the Universe and to Councilors fascinate legions of the public who support our inquiry. Bruce Balick Nancy S. Brickhouse Unfortunately, we do not see similar progress in the Eileen D. Friel political sphere, even now that the consequences have Edward F. Guinan been spelled out of allowing budget sequestration to hit Todd J. Henry Steven D. Kawaler every government agency in January. The election will, Patricia Knezek no doubt, provide a new ground-truth within which our Robert Mathieu Angela Speck elected representatives must work, but it is unlikely to contribute to the bi-partisan spirit necessary to address Executive Office Staff Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer seriously the nation’s budget problems. Tracy Beale, Registrar & Meeting Coordinator Chris Biemesderfer, Director of Publishing Sherri Brown, Membership Services It is into this environment that the National Science Foundation Astronomy Division’s Coordinator Portfolio Review Committee released its report in late August. My personal opinion is Kelly E. Clark, Chief Financial Officer Kim Earle, Director of Meeting Services that the Committee did an extremely good job working with the scenarios they were Megan Feeley, Abstract Administrator given. They scrupulously held to the scientific priorities of the Decadal Surveys and Richard Tresch Fienberg, Press Officer and were meticulous in creating an inventory of the resources we have—and the facilities Education & Outreach Coordinator Lisa Idem, Meetings Manager we need—to carry out the research that supports those priorities. They were sensitive Scott Idem, Systems & Network Director to the dislocations their recommendations could cause and cognizant of their impact Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow on the astronomical workforce. Finally, they were creative in recommending new, and Judith M. Johnson, Director of re-balanced, programs to support innovation despite the current, highly constrained Communications Debbie Kovalsky, Exhibits & Sponsorship circumstances. Coordinator Jerry Lin, IT Support Assistant & Web Applications Developer I carried this personal view of the Report into the process by which the Society issues Joel Parriott, Director of Public Policy public statements. Members should know that this process involves consultations Faye C. Peterson, Director of Membership Services among the seven-member Executive Committee plus, in the case of major public Tracy Rowe, Executive Assistant policy issues such as this, the fifteen-member Committee on Astronomy and Public Crystal M. Tinch, Communications Manager Policy. It also includes the perusal of press releases issued by astronomical organizations AAS Newsletter and Congressional offices, as well as listening to the opinions of individual members who contact any of the nearly two dozen people formally involved. The process also Judith M. Johnson, Editor generates many iterations and a great deal of word-smithing. The product of this Crystal M. Tinch, Associate Editor process can be seen on the AAS website. Jeff Linsky, U. Colorado, Associate Editor, Letters The AAS Newsletter (ISSN 8750-9350) It is my experience that getting twenty people—who, by design, represent different is published bi-monthly by the American Astronomical Society, 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, constituencies, arise from different backgrounds and are shaped by different life Suite 400, Washington, DC 20009-1231; Tel: experiences—to agree on the wording of a document is an impressive accomplishment. 202-328-2010, Fax: 202-234-2560, [email protected]; www.aas.org. It also runs the risk of producing a less than compelling text, given the necessary compromises involved. After this exercise, however, it occurred to me that we should Items of general interest to be considered for publication in the AAS Newsletter should be perhaps offer our services in the form of workshops for Congressmen on how to get sent to [email protected]. Appropriate pictures things done. Unfortunately, Congress immediately left town. are welcome. For information about deadlines and submitting articles, see http://aas.org/ publications/newsletter.php. Items submitted Since I am granted this space to unburden myself of my opinions, however, I will use it to the AAS Newsletter are not automatically to make one point with greater emphasis than our consensus document allowed. included in the AAS Electronic Announcements or vice versa. Submit electronic announcement items to [email protected]. There is no doubt that the closing of any public-access observing facility will be painful for a significant portion of our community and that dislocations will ensue. However, Front Cover as the Portfolio Review makes clear, even in budget scenarios more rosy than the Students invited to interact with space researchers at the Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting in more optimistic one they considered, it is simply not possible to both keep all current Reno. Photo: Rick Fienberg facilities open and to proceed with the ground-breaking new facilities—ALMA, LSST, ATST, etc.—that we deem essential to our continued exploration of the Universe. Not possible, that is, unless one essentially eliminates individual investigator grants. 2 American Astronomical Society http://aas.org Now, an argument can be made (and I have even been on both education and the public imagination deserve the known to posit it as an abstract concept) that it is possible to funding profile envisioned by the Decadal Surveys. But with explore the Universe without grants but it is not possible to trillion-dollar-plus deficits, a tax policy that is a travesty, and explore the Universe without telescopes. However, speaking entitlements growing far faster than inflation, it is going to of dislocation, the end of grants would require a complete be a very hard sell. And, as the Committee’s report notes restructuring (naively, elimination) of graduate training, of repeatedly, one cannot responsibly cease to operate facilities postdoctoral research, and of innovation in the laboratory—all overnight—it will take years. If work is not begun now on outcomes inimical to our continued progress and devastating the task of reducing the burden of facility operations costs on to workforce development. Of all the opinions we heard, none the Astronomy Division budget, the consequences a few years advocated eliminating the grants program. hence could be dire indeed. But here is the critical point: while you can be certain that I believe it is in the collective interest of our membership Congressmen and Senators representing affected facilities will that we not allow the distribution of the federal resources we rally to the cause of keeping them open (we have already seen are allocated to be further politicized. The Portfolio Review the first “over my dead, cold body” press release), I can not Committee was a Committee of our peers making their best imagine a groundswell of support on the Hill defending your judgments in the interest of our science. Reasonable people $85K per year NSF grant. It is relatively straightforward for a can, of course, disagree with details of their conclusions, but I Representative or Senator to get directives to the Foundation hope that we can remain united in our support of peer review as written into the Authorization and Appropriations bills— the basis of resource allocation, and supportive of an allocation “Thou shalt not close that facility”—but it is highly unlikely that retains a strong program of individual investigator grants. that the same Congressman will add all the funds required to both avoid the closure and leave the grants programs Meanwhile we continue with our mission to “enhance and unscathed. share humanity’s scientific understanding of the Universe.” A major display of our progress will take place in Long Beach I am, of course, in favor of continuing to make the case that during the second week in January. I hope to see you there. our stunning scientific successes and our massive impact From the Executive Office Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer, [email protected] By the time you read this column, should be higher and may break the 3000 barrier, typically the Division for Planetary Sciences only exceeded at our winter meetings in Washington, DC. meeting for 2012 will be history and This is a welcome result, as it means the community values the results will no doubt be bouncing AAS meetings. The program is carefully crafted by our Vice around the Internet. The AAS is Presidents and organized by our talented meeting staff, but the proud to help organize the annual core of our meetings is you, our members! We could not have meeting of the DPS when it is held a meeting if you did not show up, so thank you for registering in the US and support our largest and attending. If you have ideas on how to improve the Division to accomplish their goals.
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